Antiquarian Shop, a multigenerational family business made its name in Sewickley selling new furniture for the ages. The expansion to Aspinwall continues the tradition.
Pittsburghers are known for sticking on their side of the river as much as possible. When Antiquarian Shop, the venerable area furniture store in Sewickley, wanted to expand and get closer to potential customers, it came to Aspinwall for several good reasons—not crossing a river was a bonus.
Antique Roots to a Modern Furniture Destination at Antiquarian Shop in Aspinwall
The family roots of the business date to the late 1940s. That’s when John Lewis left the coal industry to pursue his passion for antique furniture, opening the Antiquarian Shop on Sewickley’s Broad Street. One of his grandsons, Jay Miller, went on to work there, delivering furniture and learning the business. “My grandfather used my parents’ home as inventory,” Jay recalls. “Things would cycle through, so I knew my furniture styles and wood species at a young age. In high school, I could tell a Chippendale chair from a Queen Anne chair.”
Just as Jay was headed off to college in the late 1970s, his grandfather closed the Antiquarian Shop. But their connection and Jay’s memories of working in the business remained strong.
Post-college, Jay was kicking around and “my grandfather wasn’t happy that I didn’t have a job.” In response, he helped Jay with seed capital for an “exploratory vacation” to England. At that time, the U.S. dollar was strong in exchange for the pound, and the investment yielded a shipping container full of English antiques.
With that shipment, Jay started a new store in 1985, using the name of his grandfather’s legacy business in homage. He located the store on Beaver Street, just around the corner from the original.
Before long, he started supplementing antiques with new furniture. “There were categories of antiques that you couldn’t get,” Jay says. “Like dining chairs were either too expensive or too rickety, so I bought from Hickory Chair in North Carolina.” Over time, he realized that new furniture was easier to stock and allowed him to provide a wide range of options to his customers. He shifted entirely to that business. The Antiquarian Shop went from strength to strength, becoming a Sewickley institution and regional destination.
Jay’s wife, Holly, works at Antiquarian Shop as a buyer. She has a retail background in women’s fashion, first with e.b. Pepper, which had a long run in Shadyside, and then as co-owner of Bailey & Bailey in Sewickley. “Her fashion sense has really influenced the store,” Jay says.
Aspinwall Location Brings Growth and New Opportunities
In 2022, Jay was working with the florist Fox and the Fleur to decorate a retail space it had leased in Aspinwall. A vacant store next door caught his eye.
“We wanted to be in a quaint village like Aspinwall,” Jay says, citing similarities to Sewickley’s traditional business district. Into the bargain, they got closer to Fox Chapel, Oakmont, and neighborhoods in the city’s East End.
Jay and Holly found someone reliable to run the Aspinwall store: their daughter, Haley. For one, she had excellent professional experience, having worked for New York City’s ABC Carpet & Home after college before spending a few years at Woodbridge Furniture in North Carolina (a line Antiquarian Shop carries). Looking to return to Pittsburgh, she happily took the helm.
“Aspinwall is a retail destination,” Haley says. While online shopping has its place, “furniture is something you really want to touch and do that all-important ‘sit test’.” She recently matched a petite customer with a sofa that would be comfortable for her—something only possible via an in-person encounter.
High-Quality Furniture, Design Services, and Lasting Relationships
Antiquarian Shop today carries 60 lines of indoor and outdoor furniture — all top quality, such as Baker, Lee Industries, Verellen, Made Goods, and Highland House. Complementing the furniture are wall art and decor items. In addition to traditional lamps, they offer innovative cordless lamps from Zafferano America.
While the high-quality pieces are priced appropriately, Jay notes that “we have a gigantic spectrum of price points.” He summarizes the offerings as “a mix of modern, traditional, and transitional.”
The family’s ties to the furniture world continue with Jay and Holly’s son, Duncan. He operates Furniture Fixologist, a mobile service for furniture repair and restoration. While Antiquarian Shop refers customers to Furniture Fixologist, Duncan works independently all over the region.
Antiquarian Shop has five in-house designers and partners with 40 independent designers in Pittsburgh and beyond. Relationships that started here have continued as colleagues have moved to Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and wine regions of California.
Local customers expand the business’s reach as well, trusting Antiquarian Shop to furnish their properties outside the region. “We ship to a lot of second homes in Florida, the Carolinas, and ski country,” Jay says.
If there’s a secret to four decades of success at Antiquarian Shop, Jay Miller credits the customers: “Our clientele knows their furniture and appreciates what they’re buying.”
Story by Jeff Forster